Recovery
by shialuvr222
Summary: Set after Defiance. Following the rescue of the Belgravian ambassador's daughter, Tim is rushed to the hospital after collapsing. Little did he know that he was suffering from more than exhaustion. Major character sickness, for lack of a better term.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I wrote this almost half an hour after Tuesday's episode, so I'm a little bit late uploading, but I hope you like it. It just had so much potential, I couldn't resist. I thought the episode was great. Enjoy!

He was confused. He was exasperated. Most of all, he was tired of being used.

Not just by Vance, to crack encryptions, or Gibbs, to be used as an example, or Tony, to break into cars, apartments, computers. He was tired of being used by women.

First was Abby. She had used him for sex. Next came the woman whose name he would not mention, who had read his mail and stolen his credit card. Then, Amanda. Not only had she used him for information, she had tried to kill him.

And now another name to add to the list. Adrianna. She had been beautiful. More importantly, she had been smart. Funny, self-confident, goal-oriented. She had been everything he could think of. And it had been a lie.

He sighed. He didn't know that. He hadn't gotten a chance to talk to her before she left the country, and when he asked Ziva her opinion, she had had to go answer Tony's phone.

_Give me a break,_ he thought. _No girl in their right mind would like you._

He almost smiled. He had talked to Abby about it earlier, and now her words echoed through his mind.

_Stop telling yourself that, Tim! It's not true and you know it!_

He stood, stretching his aching body as he moved sluggishly into the kitchen. He had tried to sleep, but with his brain capacity, sleeplessness wasnt an uncommon occurence. He poured himself a glass of water, noticing with a tired curiousity that his hands were shaking.

The next thing he knew, the glass was slipping through his fingers, shattering to a million minute pieces on the floor.

_What-_

His unspoken question was cut off suddenly and unexpectedly as he crumpled to the floor.

A/N: So, what did you think? I'm not psychic, so you'll have to use the old fashioned way and review. I know it was really short, but it just felt right to leave it there. (Don't worry, it's not a death fic.) Review, pleaseohplease?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: SO SORRY for the wait, I've got a lot of ideas that I've been juggling, and finding time for all of them is hard. So last night, I was just sitting there, and this chapter and the next one just kind of came out, although I'm rewriting the next one because I didn't like it. I also changed my mind about the plot for this one not long after I uploaded it, and I've been trying to figure out where to go with it. But I've got it now. So yeah, please enjoy and REVIEW!

Abby pulled up in front of Tim's building. Thinking back on their conversation, she had wanted to make sure he was okay. If he was asleep, she would come back tomorrow.

As she approached the apartment, she noticed the light under the door. She sighed. He needed sleep.

Knocking lightly, but with no response, she pulled her key from her pocket and unlocked the door.

"Tim, what are you doing up? It's three o'clock in the morning!" She moved to the bedroom, finding it empty. "I mean, technically, I shouldn't be up either, but I was thinking about our talk and I wanted to make sure you understood that-"

She cut off with a gasp as she entered the kitchen and took in his unconscious form on the floor. Immediately dropping to her knees, she checked his pulse – nearly nonexistent – and rolled him onto his side when she realized he wasn't breathing. Jethro was nudging his master and whining, and she suspected that he had been for a while.

_How long has he been here?_

Whipping out her phone as she tried to wake him up, she pressed sped dial number one.

_Right. New phone. Number one is voicemail._

She pressed number two. He picked up on the third ring.

"_Yeah."_

"Gibbs! Emergency! Like, Code Red emergency! I'm at his apartment, he's out cold on the floor, and he's not waking up. What happened? What do I do? How-"

"Abby, slow down. Whose apartment?"

"What?"

"Whose apartment are you in?"

"Tim's! What do I do?"

"First, calm down. You're not any good to him as panicky as you are."

"Alright. Calming down." She took a couple of deep breaths.

"You calm?"

"I'm calm. Now what?"

"Call an ambulance. Tell them to bring him to Bethseda. I'll call the others and meet you there."

"Okay," she responded, but he had already hung up.

NCIS

Once he hung up, his heart dropped. _You should have trusted your gut. You knew something was up._

_No. Time for that later. Right now, focus on your team._

Glaring at his cell, he punched the number three button and then SEND. Some stupid speed dial thingy.

Tim had set it up for him last week.

He shook his head. As the phone rang, he knew that if something happened, he would never forgive himself.

A very groggy Tony answered. "Very Special-"

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked. Suddenly Tony seemed wide awake.

"Oh, hey, boss. We got a case?"

"No. Get to Bethseda ASAP. That's an order."

The one button he found easily was END. He never had any trouble with that one.

Number four. "David."

"Bethseda. Now."

END.

He wasn't one for reflection, but he couldn't help but think as he drove about how smoothly the team worked. And how losing a member had crushed them the first time. He didn't know if the could take it a second.

_Stop._

But his mind refused to obey.

He waited in the parking lot a good fifteen minutes before Ziva pulled up, two more for Tony and nearly eight after that before the ambulance itself. As the emergency personnel ushered Tim into the building, Abby sobbed into Gibbs' shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her as Tony stared, paler than usual, after the gurney. Ziva's face was a mask, except for the eyes that betrayed her emotions.

Then came the hours of endless waiting.

A/N: Yeah, I know. It won't be near as long a wait this time. I'll probably get it up within a week. Yes, panicky is a word. Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So, I know I said the wait wouldn't be as long. I'm SO sorry. I had a bad bout of WB recently and my first priority was Renegade. Honestly, I forgot about this. I looked through my notebook and saw this, yelled "Oh, crap!" and started writing. This is what I came up with. I know, it's _really _short. Now that school's out I should have a lot more time to work on it. I did my research for this, and I hope it's not like every other sickness story. Enjoy :)

NCIS

"He's got _what_?"

"NSCLC." The doctor looked sympathetically if not regretfully at the small group. "It's a type of lung cancer. It stands for Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma."

Ducky, having joined them not long after the ambulance, drew on his extensive medical knowledge. "What variety of NSCLC?"

"Adenocarcinoma."

Ducky frowned.

The doctor's pager beeped. "Oh, excuse me. If you have any questions, the nurse at the desk should be able to tell you what you need." He hurried off.

For a moment, no one moved. Then Abby began to cry again, and Tony pulled her into a hug, letting out a long sigh. Ziva pinched the bridge of her nose. Gibbs moved towards the door and motioned for Ducky to follow him.

"How bad is it, Duck?"

"Adenocarcinoma is the worst type of lung cancer. It can't be too far along, because I can't imagine that we would have missed the symptoms." He paused. "Then again, Timothy is a private person. He may not have wanted to worry us."

"What kind of symptoms?"

"Hemoptysis, dyspnea, cachexia, dysphagia-"

"English."

He almost smiled despite the situation. Almost. "Among other things, coughing up blood, breathing problems, weight loss, fatigue, fever, bone or chest pain, loss of appetite…"

"What causes it?"

"Oh, any number of things."

"Duck…"

"Several causes are known, others suspected, and none I can think of are likely to have given it to him."

"He got it from something. Is it hereditary?"

"No. He doesn't smoke, and I don't think asbestos is a possibility. Prolonged exposure to particulate matter such as ash, exposure to radiation… He may have gotten it from a virus-"

"Radiation?"

Ducky looked confused. "Yes, but Jethro, when-"

Gibbs tuned him out, guilt pounding in his head.

Tim had gotten sick doing his job.

When he woke up, he would find the world had changed. He would have to deal with the fact that he couldn't control his body anymore. Gibbs would have to tell him that everything was different. Tim had proved himself time and again, but he had to wonder if that quiet strength would be enough.

NCIS

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

The steady, regular sound slowly pulled him out of sleep. The more he woke, the more aware he became. It smelled of rubbing alcohol and medicine. Combined with the beeping, it wasn't hard to figure out where he was. The hospital.

He remembered the shattering glass, and then blackness. His head throbbed, his chest hurt, he could hardly breathe, and he was hot. Nothing made sense. He heard a noise to his right.

Curious, he opened his eyes, immediately regretting the decision. The light blinded him, and his already aching head split open. He groaned, squinting. More motion to the right.

When his vision cleared, he looked over. Gibbs sat in an uncomfortable-looking chair with a paper coffee cup in his hand.

"B-boss?"

Gibbs looked over, and for a moment, Tim saw a flash of worry in his eyes. But then it was gone. "Hey, Tim. How ya feelin'?"

"…Why am I here?"

NCIS

A/N: I know, I'm sorry. I know I said this last time, but it shouldn't be as long of a wait. I hope not, anyway. No promises this time. :) By the way, those are the real causes and side effects (or some of them) for adenocarcinoma. Adenocarcinoma can also be in the colon and I think a couple of other places. I did my research, like I said. The only thing I'm not sure of is the faint (I hate calling it that, but "sudden unconsciousness" sounds stupid). I don't know if that actually happens or not, but give me some dramatic license, people!

Anyway, I hope you liked it! I REALLY don't want this to be like the typical sickness story. Not that there's anything wrong with them, I just don't want to disappoint anyone. :( Tell me what you think! PLEASE!


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